At the upcoming Inauguration and at various marches, 30,000 free copies of Resist will be distributed. I lobbied for this ‘zine about today’s political situation to be made accessible for blind people. I sent an email to resistsubmission@gmail.com: “I’m not submitting a comic but asking you to post descriptions of images online so those of us who are blind can enjoy Resist as well. If you feel you don’t know how to do this, please contact me and I’ll coach you through it. My community needs this ‘zine too!”

When I heard nothing, I contacted the listserv Disability Studies in the Humanities and asked them to join me. At least one person did and even suggested websites with good image descriptions on them for Resist to use as a model.

We both heard back that they were swamped trying to get the comic out in time and getting all the good images they’d received online, so no accessible copy at the moment. I offered to get five images described so they could have something for us blind Resisters, but they said no thanks but they’ll get to it in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Ouch! Here we have good and righteous people doing great volunteer work, but for them accessibility is nice, not necessary. For me, accessibility is necessary and nice!

Thank you to those of you who provide access of varying kinds. Whether it’s a ride to church for someone who can’t drive anymore, or carpentry work putting in a ramp so a new wheelchair user can stay in their home, it helps. For digital access, sending emails to inaccessible websites or lobbying your library board to only consider accessible e-book providers, more voices than the one person who has identified the need are very welcome. It takes a village to make access happen, just like it takes a village to raise a child.

As a person who needs access, I’ve moved from only asking if I NEED it to live to asking for it if I think it will give me better quality of life. Do I NEED access to a comic book like Resist? No, but nobody else NEEDS it either! What I continue to work on is not getting discouraged when access doesn’t happen. This week I’m at one for two which is a batting average of .500. I got a ride to a meeting (it’s below zero here in Wisconsin), but didn’t get anywhere with Resist.

Here’s to those who keep requesting access and to those who stand with us.